To say November 25, 2023 was a chaotic and hectic day in the life of CM Punk is a massive understatement.
The date marked the long-awaited WWE return of “The Best in the World” in his hometown of Chicago, Illinois at the annual WWE Survivor Series premium live event.
During an appearance on the debut episode of the new No-Contest Wrestling podcast with O’Shea Jackson Jr. and TJ Jefferson, “The Second City Saint” reflected on the chaos that surrounded the moments that led up to his shocking surprise return at the end of the WWE Survivor Series: WarGames 2023 premium live event at AllState Arena.
While touching on the topic, the purveyor of pipe bombs revealed that he didn’t have a contract signed when he first entered the venue on 11/25, and that his deal was finalized as he was in Gorilla position waiting for his cue to walk through the curtain and shock the WWE Universe and international pro wrestling audience watching at home.
He then reflected on some of the initial interactions he had with friends and peers he hadn’t seen in years, such as Bayley, William Regal, Paul “Triple H” Levesque and Stephanie McMahon-Levesque.
“I don’t think people knew, I think they were piled in [Gorilla position] because it’s the end of the show and social media people are filming winners and losers coming through the curtain,” Punk began. “I remember being in Gorilla and all of a sudden I get bear-hugged from behind. I turn around to see who it is and it’s Bayley. She’s like, ‘I f**king knew it! As soon as they started yelling at us to clear the hallway … I knew it!’ She’s not letting go of me. Triple H is there [and] Stephanie [McMahon], I remember seeing and having a moment with. Somebody I haven’t seen in ten years [and] somebody where people are like, ‘They hate each other,’ [William] Regal. I remember looking at Regal and him going [makes curious-facial expression]. ‘Look at us.’ There were so many people in there.”
As he continued, “The Voice Of The Voiceless” recalled the chaos that ensued literally seconds before he walked through the curtain in WWE for the first time in almost a decade, which included the WWE Chief Content Officer “freaking out” and “ripping his headset off” in a frantic moment.
Punk Then, I don’t know what to do. I lose my composure. All I know is I’m coming out [and] I’m trying to talk to Triple H over the table, and it’s so loud. They hit my music [and I say] ‘I don’t know what I’m doing. What am I doing?’ He’s like, ‘Go walk to the cage.’ ‘All the way down to the cage?’ He was trying to tell me there were the two cages for babyfaces and heels for WarGames. He wanted me to walk down and stand there. In my head, I’m going all the way to the cage. We’re going back-and-forth and freaking out. He rips his headset off, ‘What are we doing?!’ Obviously, we figured it out.”
(H/T to Fightful.com for transcribing the above quotes.)
